Dragon Nest: A Hero's Mark
by Ancestor's Dragon
Summary: What is the Mark of a Hero? Is it the Willingness to face the Unknown? Is it the Determination to conquer one's Adversity? Is it the Strength to stand in the face of Suffering? Is it to Stand above the Ridicule of others? Perhaps it is a Journey to return something Lost to the world. This world, long devoid of Heroes, will soon find out.


_Prologue: The First Step_

* * *

_What is the Mark of a Hero?_

Three children stood together, unsure of what to say. A seven year old girl with silver hair raised her head, smiling brightly at the other two. Confidence and pride shone in her eyes, one the color of molten gold, the other the color of rubies.

"Hey, don't look so down! We're not going to be separated forever, ya know!" She playfully slapped a young boy on his shoulder. "You gotta man up Myrdin, Big Sis isn't going to be around to keep you out of trouble anymore."

The boy looked up, the same silver hair and strangely colored eyes as the girl before him. His ears twitched slightly, not quite long and sharp enough to be an elf's, not round enough to be a human's. "But you're the one always getting us into trouble…" He responded, slightly miffed at the contact. "And it'll be kind of scary without anyone I know… especially since we're, you know… half-elf, half-human."

Myrdin kept his head ducked slightly and glanced over to where a caravan is getting ready to leave. Men of various ages wearing the mail and tunic of the Divine Order walked around checking cargo and packing supplies. A few shot the children dark looks before turning back to their work. The half elf boy looked away, back at his sister and his other remaining friend.

"And besides, you're my _twin_ sister, not my _older_ sister, Lunasa." She laughed and tried to ruffle his hair while he leaned away.  
"I beat you by a few minutes so it counts!"

* * *

_Is it the Willingness to face the Unknown?_

"Aliiiiiiice!" The second girl in the group, smiling at the antics of the two half elf siblings, turned to find herself dog-piled by four more children. "Alice, don't go! Don't leave with the sorceresses, we don't want you to go!" Her younger siblings pleaded while on top of her. She gently pushed them off before embracing them.

"I have to." She whispered softly in their ears. Smiling, she looks the eldest in the eye, a girl with blue hair, dark enough to almost be black and violet eyes; the same characteristics that Alice possessed. "Take care of everyone, Marisa." She rose and patted her on the head. "You are the eldest now."

"Hey, cut the waterworks already! If you don't get your crybaby buttocks in line, we'll leave without you." An irate voice cut across their farewell and Alice frowned slightly. The sorceress that the voice belonged to gives her an impatient look that she proceeds to ignore. Alice then gives her younger siblings one last squeeze before turning to her two friends.

"So… I guess this is goodbye?" Myrdin hesitantly asked. Alice shook her head.

"Not goodbye." She responded, smiling at him. He blushed faintly before averting his eyes.

"That's right! We'll meet again, I'm sure of it!" Lunasa yelled out, grabbing both of them. "We're going to get stronger and then you'll come with me when I go on my adventure, right? You better promise!"

"Definitely." Myrdin stood a little straighter. "We'll definitely be together again."

As they separate, a cleric walked up to them. "It is time, child." He said in a low but gentle voice. "Have you finished bidding your farewells?"

"…Y-yes…" Myrdin faltered a bit before Lunasa elbowed him in the side.

"Yes Sir." He repeated with more conviction. The monk handed him a buckler and wand, which he strapped to his arm and belt respectively. He picked up his pack and turned to the girls. "How do I look?"

"Just a bit less like a sissy now." Lunasa remarked while Alice giggled.

"Oi! We're leaving _now_, so get on with it!" Alice sighed as the sorceress continued to yell at her. She picked up her pack and made to leave before stopping. After a brief hesitation she quickly walked over to Myrdin and pecked him on the cheek.

"Take care…" She muttered before turning and running to where the sorceresses waited. The cleric chuckled while Myrdin stood flabbergasted and turned to leave. Lunasa proceeded to shove Myrdin forward to break him out of his stupor.

"I'll see you later brother." She said, tone more affectionate.

"Yep, I'll be back later." He smiled, and turned to run after the leaving clerics.

* * *

_Is it the Determination to conquer one's Adversity?_

A young man stood before a podium. At an imposing height of nearly 20 feet, it dwarfed even he, who had an impressive height of nearly 6 feet. The 14 year-old stood straight, with a large frame and short flaming red hair. The shabby prisoner's tunic did nothing to diminish the proud air coming off of him.

**"Sigurd of the House Aiskran, for crimes committed against the realm,"**

_Hold your head high, you did nothing wrong._ Even as he told himself these words, he couldn't quite stop his hands from shaking.

**"For absconding in the call of duty,"**

He could barely hear the accusations against the roars of protest around him.

**"And for consorting with unholy creatures beyond the wall"**

He looked through the crowds, and found the person he was searching for.

**"You have been sentenced to exile."**

Brown eyes met blue, and he saw that the young boy that they belonged to holding back tears. _I must be strong. I must be strong for you, Arturius_.

**"You will be stripped of your titles and inheritance"**

_Be strong brother, I will return._

**"and you shall be exiled beyond the boundaries of the realm."**

_ I will return to save you and the kingdom from this nest of vipers._

**"May the Goddess have mercy on your soul."**

He broke their gaze as he turned. _Watch closely brother, this is how a King should stand. They only thing I can do for you now is to burn this image in your memory._

Head held high, eyes resolute, he walked. He walked proudly, ignorant of the condemning eyes directed at him by those who judged them so unjustly and of the pleading voices of the people around him.

_You can't be the scared child you once were._

Sigurd passed through the wall that surrounded the capital.

_You must be strong, you must hold onto your hope._

He never looked back, even as the gates closed shut behind him.

_I, Sigurd the Lionheart, will one day return to fight for you, my brother. My King._

Without a sound, he disappeared into the frozen forest, heading south towards the coast. From there he would steal passage across a ship to another continent, away from this island where men's hearts were colder than the ice that was so prevalent. To Altera.

* * *

_Is it the Strength to stand in the face of Suffering?_

"How could this happen?!" General Duglas roared from his office. A crash as something was thrown was heard. Outside a girl with apple red hair sat crouched against a wall.

_How… did this happen_… She thought, hugging her knees. She was tired, oh so tired. But she dared not sleep, lest the images of what transpired return to her. As her eyes drooped, she saw her home burning, heard the screams of her parents as they burned while she hid away.

"Who did this?" Duglas demanded. "Who would do such a thing?

_Who would take away Mother and Father…?_

"They called themselves the Dragon Cultists, Sir. The bodies that were left were all wearing this." The girl opened her eyes at the mention of her parents' killers. She quietly walked to the door and peeked through the gap between the door and the frame.

"A mask?" The general turned the mask over in his hands, looking over the draconic visage.

` "Do you know why they attacked?" He said after putting the mask down.

"No Sir, but it seemed they wished to make a statement." The girl slumped a little more at that. She wanted to know more, so she edged a little closer. The door creaked as she touched it, however, alerting the people inside to her presence. As General Duglas moved towards her, she quickly retreated back to the wall across from the door and huddled against it. He sighed and sat himself next to her.

"I'm sorry for your loss…" He started and then mentally kicked himself. He could come up with strategies on the fly and more often than not several more contingency plans to back them up, but he couldn't think of what to say to comfort a little girl.

"It… wasn't your fault Sir." She spoke softly. Duglas barely heard the words at all. "It was the… Dragon Cultists. They were the ones who killed my Mother and Father…"

He wasn't sure what to say to that. He started to worry that the incident might have affected her more badly than he feared.

"I want them back… I don't want to be alone." She turned to Duglas, tears in her eyes. "Why did they take them away?"

At that, Duglas threw away all sense of decorum and enveloped her in a hug. She froze at the contact, but didn't resist.

"I don't want to be alone..."

"You won't be my dear, you won't be." He patted her in an awkward attempt to comfort her. "I'll make sure we'll find them and bring them to justice. And I'll make sure to protect you from them, Lena."

* * *

_Is it to Stand above the Ridicule of others?_

A 10 year old girl with snow white hair and green eyes dressed in boy's clothing stood outside the door to the kitchen listening to her parents argue.

"You _will _get rid of him, some way or another, or so help me, _I'll_ find some way to do it myself!" She could hear her stepmother yelling, growing more frantic.

"Llenna is my _child_! By the goddess, I'm not going to just throw him away because you don't like him." Her father tried to defend her, as always, but he could never quite stand up to her stepmother.

"Our marriage is the only thing saving your family from ruin, and I'm not about to let that _bastard_ that you had with some dead harlot threaten _my_ son's future. He will never get his inheritance so long as there's an older sibling, you know that! The law will not allow it!" The girl chuckled at that. That banshee was supposed to be her mother, and she still never realized that she was actually a girl. She wondered if she would hate her quite as much if her step-mother realized that, as a girl, her step-brother's inheritance wasn't threatened anyway. No, of course she would. And if it wasn't her, it'd be some other buffoon that called him or herself a noble that would take advantage of her gender. No, it was best that everyone believed she was a boy.

"I see my mother's still going at it." Llenna turned to look at her step brother. He was an average looking boy, with his mother's brown hair. He had an apologetic look on his face. "I'm so-"

"It's alright James. I'm the one who's sorry. You're going to have to deal with her forever." She jerked her head towards the kitchen where their mother's rant was increasing in zeal. "Even if I'm not going to be around much longer, at least I won't have to deal with _her_."

James let out a weak smile but didn't quite have the heart to laugh. The two of them looked up when their father stormed out of the kitchen. Upon seeing them, his anger abated.

"Llenna…" he started hesitantly.

"Well, I guess I should go try to calm her down before she does something stupid again." James gave his sister a reassuring pat on the shoulder before entering the warzone once called a kitchen. Llenna made to walk away but stopped when her father touched her arm.

"Llenna, could we talk?"

"Should I start packing my things?" She asked curtly. She loved her father, she really did, but goddess, sometimes he could be so cowardly.

"Oh, no no, well, that is…" She turned to look at him with an unreadable expression on her face. He cringed at the look and struggled to continue. "W-well, your mother-"

_Step-mother_, she wanted to remind him, but kept quiet.

"-wants to send you off to the Divine Order." He managed to say. "She wishes you to renounce all right to my title and cut any ties you have to this family."

"Huh." She had expected this for a long time coming, but for her to actually go through with it… "Am I really such a stain upon this family?"

"NO!" Her father yelled. So unused to him speaking with so much conviction, she actually jumped a little. "S-sorry, no. I love you Llenna, I love you and I loved your mother. I don't care that you were a child born out of wedlock, you are still my child. A miracle child of the house DuLac. I have never and will never be ashamed of you."

"But you're still sending me away…" Llenna muttered, unsure of what to think. She knew she was supposed to be prepared for this. Maybe this was punishment for joking about it so often. Her father stayed silent for a while before continuing.

"Yes… but while she wishes it so that James may be ensured of his right as heir, I had… had hoped that you would find a better place out in the world, away from all… _this_." He gestured towards the surroundings in general.

"The glamour of the noble life, huh?" She said bitingly.

"I think you were meant for more than this. The circumstances around your birth, well… Let's just say I don't think a small piece of land and a title are the only things that lie in store for you." He reached into his pocket and took out a box.

"This belonged to your mother." Llenna's eyes widened in surprise. She opened the box, revealing a simple choker with a stylized heart shaped pendant. The shape itself was somewhat crude, looking more like an entanglement of metalwork than something designed for beauty. The pendant seemed to glow with an unearthly light, half a bright alabaster that she could almost see her face in, the other half such a dark shade of black that the surrounding light seemed to be drawn within.

"She gave it to me in hopes that a part of her could be with us." Her father tied it around her neck before taking her hands. "And I want you to have this."

Llenna felt something slide onto her finger. "This is the DuLac coat of arms. Anyone who wears this is considered a member of our house. I hope it will serve as a reminder for how much I love you." He kneeled, looking into her eye.

"I don't know what will come to you in the future, but I'm sure you will find some happiness. The Divine Order takes care of its own, that at least I know. And no matter what happens, inheritance or not, you are still my daughter. Know that."

* * *

_Perhaps it is a Journey to return something Lost to the world._

A young boy walked alone through the wintery woods. By his appearance, he couldn't have been more than 13. Golden hair shone in the sunlight while blue eyes scanned the world around him half heartedly.

_"So, you're going?" A woman asked. Worry shone in her bright blue eyes, the eyes that he inherited, as she stared at her son. The boy kept his head down, unwilling to look her in the face._

_ "I- I can't stay here any longer Mom… I just can't." She got up from where she sat and walked over to him, handing over a pack filled to the brim with necessities. He looked up, blue eyes mirroring the ones that stared back at him and hesitantly reached out for the bag._

_ "I understand." She said, a comforting smile on her face._

He clutched the cloth package in his arms tighter, trying to find some measure of strength.

_"This is-"He started, shock in his voice. "But I can't, this is yours!" She silenced him with a kiss to his forehead._

_ "It's yours now. I want you to use it. Just letting him sit around and rust would do him a disservice. He's a sword meant for Knights, after all."_

He unwrapped the cloth around the package to reveal the blue tinged steel of a hilt and guard, stylized to mimic the explosion of a lightning strike. Gripping the hilt, he felt the cool metal underneath his figures pulse faintly with magic. The sword was most certainly alive. Past the hilt though, there was no blade.

_"Right now, your heart is wavering. Once you find your foundation, once you rediscover your dream, he will awaken."_ He remembered his mother's words clearly. They rang like an accusing gong within his mind.

_"Hold onto your dream and never give it up. This is what will see you through your journey. This sword will ensure it."_

No, this sword wasn't meant for him, he knew. Not for someone who would run away in fear from his responsibilities, in despair that there was no one that could save him. Not for someone who would give up on his dreams and ideals. He would find his father and his brother, and then they would return and make things right again, they way they should be. No, this sword was surely meant for them. A sudden chill blew in and he pulled up his hood. He glanced once more at his mother's sword, hoping that some answer would come. Instead, all he saw was his reflection within metal.

_"Tell me A******s, what is your dream?" _

"I want to be…" he muttered, rewrapping the cloth around the sword before trudging onwards.

* * *

"A Hero of Justice!" Lunasa exclaimed, standing proudly on top of the table.

"Oooh…" Alice's siblings stared up at her, awe shining in their eyes.

"Off the table, Luna." A ladle whacked her over the head, its owner quickly turning back towards the stove to tend to dinner.

"Ow, Mommmm." She whined. Alice's parents chuckled while helping her off the table.

"Mind your mother now, dear. A hero, huh?" Alice's mother said while bustling about, trying to get her children situated around the table. "Oh Layla, let me help you with that!"

"Might want to start lookin' into other job opportunities, Luna."

"Riley! Don't discourage her like that!" Alice's father took a whack over his head too, courtesy of his wife. "Ow! I'm just sayin' Shirley, being some fancy hero of the world isn't exactly all it's cracked up to be. It ain't easy either, that's for sure."

"Hmph." Lunasa crossed her arms in front of her as she pouted. "Just you watch, Mr. Margatroid, I'll be the greatest Hero of Justice ever! I'm going to go on an adventure and save lots of people!" The rest of the children cheered and laughed as she gestured enthusiastically with her declaration. Layla felt her heart warm as she watched her daughter pose and reenact imaginary battles. She was so full of energy all the time.

"And then I'll make it so everyone in the world likes each other, so no one will fight and hurt each other anymore." Layla froze, almost dropping the dish she was carrying. The Margatroid couple noticed her flinch.

"Alright kids, that's enough. Settle down and get ready for dinner." Riley corralled the children back into their seats while Shirley made her way to Layla.

"Are you alright?" She whispered. Layla nodded and smiled before setting the food on the table.

"I'm fine, thank you…"

* * *

"Thank you for having us Riley, Shirley."

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Margatroid!"

After putting the youngest of the children to bed, Layla and Lunasa left to return to their own home down the road. Lunasa skipped happily as she held her mother's hand, but Layla had a more sober look about her.

"Lunasa…" She started.

"Yes Mom?"

"Did you mean what you said? About wanting to be a Hero to make peace?" Memories began resurfacing, some joyful, some painful, none she regretted.

"Of course! I'm going to be like the Heroes in the stories." She stared up at her mother, eyes sparkling with that conviction they always seemed to have.

"You know… you're father and I wanted to change the world too. He-_we_ thought that anyone, no matter how little or average could help make the world a happier place." She wasn't sure why she was telling this now of all times. Maybe, maybe her daughter sparked something within her again.

"Ooh, so you and Dad went on adventures and saved people too?" Layla nodded and Lunasa only seemed to grow more excited.

"But… in the end we couldn't do it." Lunasa stopped. "Perhaps we simply got old. I found my Telezia, in raising you and Myrdin, my children. And your father…" Layla paused, unsure if she should continue.

"What happened to Dad?" Lunasa asked. She rarely heard her mother speak about her father, only that he was a human who had fought for the right to marry her mother, an elf, and despite being able to do so, died sometime before she or Myrdin could remember.

"In the end, I think it was our ideals that killed him." Lunasa waited for her to continue, but Layla didn't speak up. They continued their walk in silence, both lost in thought.

"Mom…" Lunasa began, quietly. "I'm going to become a Hero. I don't think it was wrong, it couldn't have been wrong. If you think you're too old, then I'll do it for you! I'll become a Hero instead of Mom and Dad."

Layla's eyes widened. _She still remains steadfast in her dreams… Just like you Kerry…_

Then she started to laugh.

"Hey, it's not funny!" Lunasa pouted. "I'm being serious!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Layla put a hand to her chest to calm herself before beaming at her daughter. "Then I entrust our dream to you, Lunasa. I'm sure you'll make a great Hero."

_Perhaps the Mark of a Hero is no singular trait. One cannot tell what causes a Hero to leave such Marks on their journey. Only they know how the places they came from, the people who walked with them, and the paths they walked molded them, shaped them, forged them into what they became._

_What we do know is their Story, which has been forever immortalized in Legends. The accumulated Marks left upon the world, heavy steps that would make it so that wherever they tread was never the same again._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Good day everyone, thank you for reading the opening chapter of my Dragon Nest fic. Just a few things to note, this story will be following the Dragon Nest storyline and player histories, for the most part, but there will be a few differences.

One major discrepancy is Lunasa and Myrdin. To our current knowledge, all elves are born from trees, but Lunasa and Myrdin were born the way humans were. The way I figure it, there seems to be a fair amount of elf/ human couples, so I think it's fairly likely that there could be offspring involved, albeit rarely (since every elf/non elf pairing in the game never seems to last terribly long. Poor archer trainers). Bottom line, half elf children are not unheard of, but they're extremely rare and generally neutrally received. This will be a problem more for Myrdin on account of him being in the Divine Order, but Lunasa will have her fair share of issues. Won't be any trouble for the Hero of Justice though, haha.

Another is the existence of another country. According to DN Lore, only one continent made it out of the chaos in the beginning of Lagendia's history, but who's to say that there's only one country? I'm planning on having this new country be a relatively small island kingdom out of the way of most travel routes. On account of being more isolationist, they're fairly unknown. Just know that it snows there. A lot. All the time. No, it's not the Wayward Island.

Llenna's storyline is going to exactly be the dn cleric/ Edan's story. Except she's a girl. No, no one knew at the time of her acceptance into the Divine Order, but that'll be an issue for later.

Another issue is the time frame. I had meant to make this a more stream-of-events sort of thing (particularly pivotal moments in the characters' lives), so I didn't think it was important to establish one here. It was supposed to be something for the following chapters, where I'll be posted character sheets as they're introduced. However, for those of you who want to know, this chapter goes like this:

Part 1 (Lunasa, Myrdin, Alice): 9 years in the past, all three are 7 years old

Part 2 (Sigurd): 5 years in the past, Sigurd is 14 years old

Part 3 (Lena): 12 years past, Lena is 6 years old

Part 4 (Llenna): 9 years past, Llenna is 10 years old

Part 5.1 (?) 3 years past, ? is 13 years old

Part 5.2 (Lunasa) 9 years past, Lunasa is 7 years old


End file.
